Fact: This is true. There can be a risk for HIV or other blood-borne infection, like hepatitis B or C if the instruments used for piercing or tattooing are not sterilized or disinfected between clients. Any instrument used to pierce or cut the skin should be used once and thrown away. Ask the staff at [...]
Fact: Depending on how your partner defines being a virgin, it is possible for them to have contracted an STD. Your partner may not have had vaginal sex but may have had oral sex with someone and still consider themselves a virgin. There are some STDs, such as herpes and HPV which are passed through [...]
Fact: You get an STD by having sex (vaginal, oral or anal) or by skin-to-skin touching – not from toilet seats.
Fact: It seems logical but it's just not true. During sex, the condoms rub against each other. This friction can cause them to rip, tear or break. Stick with the sexual health experts on this one: doctors, nurses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and condom makers all agree that one condom equals safer [...]
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV attacks the body’s immune system. Persons infected with HIV are more likely to become ill from infections and disease that healthy persons usually can fight off. AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease you get when HIV destroys your body’s immune system.
HIV is found in the blood, semen and vaginal secretions of infected people and can be spread in the following ways: Having unprotected sex — vaginal, anal or oral — with an HIV-infected person (male or female) Sharing needles or injection equipment with an HIV-infected person to inject drugs, including hormones, insulin or steroids From [...]
HIV is not spread through casual contact such as everyday activities that do not involve bodily fluids. You cannot get HIV by: Sitting next to someone Shaking hands Giving a hug Using public facilities (restrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants or swimming pools) Insect bites Donating blood Dry kissing (though kissing can spread other STDs such as [...]
Some people infected with HIV may feel healthy. Others may have symptoms that include unexplained tiredness, swollen glands or lymph nodes, dry cough or shortness of breath (not from a cold), fever, chills or night sweats, unexplained weight loss, persistent diarrhea or unusual spots on the skin or in the mouth. Remember, these symptoms are [...]
No. Many people with HIV show no signs of infection. However, being infected means HIV is in the body for the rest of their lives, and they can infect others if they engage in behaviors that can transmit the virus.
Abstinence is the only 100% effective way to prevent transmission of STDs, including HIV. This includes oral sex. Use a new latex condoms correctly every time you have vaginal, anal or oral. If you use a lubricant, be sure it is water-based. Avoid drugs and alcohol because they can increase your chances of infection and [...]
